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The Whiskers Chronicles: A Band of Brothers
This Whiskers story is based on five males who left the group in January 2006. How does their story unfold? My co writer and I will tell you. Chapter One As a warm January morning comes to the manor, five former Whiskers males are preparing for a day of roving. Big Will is the oldest and the only remaining son of Vialli and Zaphod. Next to him is Tosca's litter mate brother, Stato. Followed by Pookie. Lastly, Two of Tosca's older sons, Bad Boy and his smaller brother Arrested. It was not uncommon for males to leave their birth mob in order to find roving opportunities, but sometimes those that left would never return. Because of his age, it is surprising that Big Will had remained in the Whiskers for so long. Most males leave the group at about one or two, ready to take dominance of either an existing group or form a new one with evicted females. Big Will is kind of a late bloomer, but now he is ready to blaze his own path and leave a bigger mark on the manor. Just because he's oldest, doesn't mean that Big Will will automatically become dominant male. While it tends to be uncommon, there are cases of younger males winning out over older ones. But most likely none of the males would protest if Big Will were to claim that desired role, instead they would most likely stay in the group until there was enough numbers that they could leave for newer pastures. That is the roving way. Before they can go looking for dates, the Whisker males need to build up their energy. Roving is a risky business and it also is a good source of exercise. However, if you want to last longer, a good rover must look after his own needs first. Of course, there is also the fact of getting some clue to where your location is. For quite some time the Whisker boys had been making a nuisance of themselves with their neighbors, but today they find themselves on the edge of the unknown. To the back is the lands that they know, beyond them is the wilds outside the reserve. Do they stay...or do they go? Despite being oldest, it is Stato who makes the big choice. While he was not as famous as his younger brother Shakespeare, Stato could practically be Tosca's twin. He is rebellious, but being a male offered less opportunities to cause some trouble. Besides, his dad was more interested in bullying Youssarian anyway. Slightly miffed, Big Will sees no real reason to not follow his half-brother. The two older boys making up their minds, the younger trio is quick to fall in. Leaving behind everything that they had known for a new future in the Great Unknown. ~0~ Because meerkats can be sneaky little critters, the researchers have decided to collar at least two of the little coalition. Big Will gets to show off a shiny collar, but so does Pookie. If Stato is unhappy about it, then he either is good at hiding it or doesn't really care. After taking those first steps into the wild beyond the reserve, the five males had to change their game plan. The first thing on their list of concerns was places of safety. A meerkat could not just run around lickity split, that is the quickest way to an early death. Bolt holes and burrows had to be noted and foraging locations had to be both productive and close to these safe houses. Once the boys got the basics all figured out, then they could switch to the fun part of roving. Not surprising, it takes a week before the males find a good place to serve as base camp. The area is quite meerkat friendly; plenty of bolt holes, lots of grub, and bushes and trees to offer shade on an extremely hot day. If this patch isn't currently owned, this would be a good place to start a new group. This morning has a late start...because Bad Boy and Arrested seem more interested in playfighting than the idea of flirting. Big Will, Stato, and Pookie are more focused on making themselves look nice, for who can say what might be caught, a random evicted female or perhaps even a dominant female. Soon it is time to start their mission and all five males are up and heading out. The first thing to do is locate a meerkat group, then they will try their luck and hope for the best. Chapter Two It seems that Big Will is not having much luck being the leader of this coalition. First it was Stato who decided that the five males should brave the wilds beyond their reserve, now it is Bad Boy who located the group that will be their first roving test. Despite being undermined yet again, Big Will is not going to through a tantrum, his mind is now focused on the chance to mate. On his signal, the coalition creep closer in order to study their potential target. After several hours of study, the rovers are able to confirm the status of this group. There are three males, with one clearly acting as a dominant male. However, he seems related to all the females present, which are five. A splinter group is just as promising as a normal size gang. Filled with hope, the Whisker males split up in order to find their places. Big Will stays where he is, it's a good position because he can see the females, but also the males. Unlike his younger relations, Big Will wants to go for the big catch...the female who is leading this small band. So far, he hasn't really found any traces of who she might be. As he moves closer, Big Will soon notices that two of the females are pregnant. Could he have been too late? It turns out that he still has a chance, for another female breaks up a squabble between the two expecting mothers. From how she is asserting herself, Big Will has little doubt that this female is the boss. With his experience, Big Will prepares to sit tight and hope that the dominant female will notice him. During this time, he witnesses his younger nephew being chased off by the three males, but Stato and Pookie seem to be absent. Were they driven off prior to this? Turns out the answer is no, at least in Stato's case. It looks like Tosca's brother has gotten lucky and is spending time with his new girlfriend. One less rival for Big Will's prize. But his moment of distraction has cost him as Big Will realizes that his target has suddenly slipped away. Where did she go? It turns out...into Pookie's arms. For a moment Big Will considers calling it quits, but then he gets an idea and manages to wrangle his nephews who have returned for a second round. It is three against three, but Big Will is going to claim this group for his own. At least he will be assured that he can have mating rights later. Neither of the three resident males see it coming, instead of wasting time on the lackeys. Big Will goes for the natal male. He puts up a good fight, but Big Will quickly has the upper hand and the male surrenders. If he behaves himself, then he and his brothers can stay in the group...as subordinates. Big Will has earned himself a place at the top of the ladder. Pookie grudgingly submits to his older cousin and Big Will assets himself. Stato doesn't seem to care that he won't be getting the crown. He's still with his new girlfriend, a young female named Red Velvet for her unusual red fur. Big Will could care less about what the other males are doing anyway. He's getting to know the queen, Artemis. The two pregnant females: Aphrodite and Athena look on, now unsure about the fate of their unborn pups. The five Whisker males have served as a good distraction for one meerkat. The last female in this group, Asami, had given birth this morning. If the rovers had not come today, there is every chance that Athena or Aphrodite would had killed the new pups. Secretly relieved, Asami takes the time to fill her belly in order to feed her pups upon the return home...at least she hopes they will go back to their current burrow. If Artemis decides not too...then the new other would be forced to abandon her pups. The first 36 hours are the most critical for any subordinate's litter, especially when there are other pregnant females around. This is the window of time when a litter is at highest risk of being killed or abandoned. If that window passes, the litter will probably make it. That said, however, even if Artemis chooses to return tonight, she may opt not to leave babysitters and abandon them tomorrow. Ashami would have no choice but to leave too. The only option would be to just go along with it...or try to oust Artemis from her position and thus ensure that her pups will be a priority. Asami is not one of those meerkats to go looking for trouble, so she plans to sit tight and see what will happen. So far, things seem good when the group returns to the burrow that they had left behind. While the other members take the time to get to know each other, Asami goes down to check her pups. Leaving them today was hard, but at least she knows they will be safe for tonight. In the morning she would decide what would happen next depending on what Artemis does. Chapter Three Three weeks have passed and the group is settling in at their new burrow. While some of the group seems to be in high spirits, three meerkats are not lifting a paw to join the activities. Aphrodite and Athena are both mourning the loss of their pups, killed by Artemis to safe-guard the dominant female's own litter. Asami is also sore with Artemis, but for a different reason. A few days after the pups were born, Artemis went missing. She returned later that afternoon but was in a state of agitation and decided that an emergency burrow move was needed. As with any unexpected den move, chaos broke out and pups were scattered; found, picked up, dropped and forgotten only to be found again. It was during the confusion that Asami ended up losing two pups. One snatched up by a juvenile goshawk while the other was abandoned and died of exposure. Despite losing two of her pups, the three remaining babies were taken to a new burrow and that should had been the end of Asami's worries. It was not. It seems that Artemis chose a poorly made burrow which flooded during a rainstorm. While the pups didn't drown, they did die from being cold and wet. Although the loss of all five pups were an accident, Asami is unable to forgive and forget. To her, Artemis had made choices using poor judgment. This is NOT what a dominant female is suppose to act or do. Losing the support of three of her females would not bother any dominant female in a normal situation, except that these three are her only choices for babysitters. Red Velvet and Stato had vanished, although the group might had caught glimpses of them with other meerkats. It looks like Stato is going to be dominant male anyway, with his delightful red-furred beauty at his side. ~0~ This morning there is only six meerkats sitting around the burrow entrance. Artemis has decided to take a late start today, and Big Will is perfectly content with snuggling beside his lady. The rest of their group will just have to sit tight until the dominant pair is ready to go. At first there is things to do that helps keep the six meerkats distracted, but soon they become bored. Then almost as if sync together, all six get up and run off into the scrub. Not surprising that they are tired of waiting around, there is food out there and they are ready to get it. As the morning progresses, two familiar faces work their way to the foraging party. Pookie and Bad Boy are finishing up a roving trip, but something catches their attention. It's Asami. With Artemis' pups expected to arrive tonight, she's totally focused on food and not on her subordinates. Asami took advantage of Artemis' lack of attention to seek out a mate, as she's ready to mate again. While Pookie continues heading for home, surprisingly not at all interested in mating, Bad Boy stays behind with Asami. Perhaps Pookie had been more successful than him on this trip. Bad Boy was very interested in Asami and she felt the same about him. Asami has never found it easy to resist temptation , especially when rovers are involved. It isn't long before she falls to her usual fate, completely smitten with her new man. Both soon return to the group without attracting unwanted attention. Asami won't kill Artemis' pups. As she has only just mated, it will be a couple of months before her own arrive. At that time, Artemis will be busy raising her litter, leaving her with little reason to care whether or not Asami has one. Getting pregnant is only phase one of her plan, the next phase will come later. Chapter Four Three weeks have passed by and now Asami can't hide the fact that she is pregnant. As she expected, Artemis is currently not paying her condition much mind, focused on tending her very large litter of eight pups. But today Asami finds herself as the lone babysitter of the eight pups, due to deciding to sleep in this morning. Asami needs every meal that she can get to ensure her pups will survive, thus she rounds up all eight of Artemis' pups and leads them out. Although they are still on a diet made up of milk, the pups are old enough to eat solids and smart pestering their nanny with beg calls, all of which are ignored as Asami focuses on herself and her own litter. There is one meerkat willing to answer the pups' cries, and that meerkat is Red Velvet. Ever since leaving the group, Stato and Red Velvet have been working hard to ensure the survival of their four pups. Despite the lack of babysitters and adults, Honey Pelt, Spider Paw, Bubbling Stream, and Blue Whisker are healthy and active, bouncing around their parents while Stato tries keeping watch. Hearing the loud cries of pups needing to be fed, Red Velvet goes to investigate, and stumbles upon her cousin's pups. Although Asami is larger than the red-furred meerkat, she runs off and leaves all eight pups at Red Velvet's mercy. Both Stato and Red Velvet watch her go, then turn their attention to the pups which huddle together. Having split from the group, Stato and Red Velvet feel no kin to the pups, they could easily kill them now before Artemis appeared. But neither does that, instead Red Velvet decides to adopt them. It is quite an ambition to have twelve pups with only two adults, but the red meerkat is known to be stubborn, so Stato joins her in scent marking them. Then the new pups are taken to meet their adopted siblings. Honey Pelt and Spider Paw immediately run over and, after a brief sniff, invite Black Ear, Tiny Branch, White Tail, and Safari to play. Bubbling Stream soon does the same with her new sisters, Silver Stripe, Dew Petal, Flower Foot, and Sally. Shy little Blue Whisker hides under her daddy, not too sure about the new pups. All the racket of twelve pups is making Stato's head spin. Red Velvet decides it's best to spend the rest of the day at home Meanwhile, Asami tries to figure out how she is going to explain this one to the boss. It's not uncommon to lose pups, as there are many dangers in the desert which the meerkat calls its home. Predators, starvation, disease, and the occasional natural disaster can all have a hand in ensuring that one out of five pups will not survive to its first birthday. But losing eight pups at the same time...well that is not so easy to blow off as a mere tragedy. It seems that the Kalahari is going to give Asami a lucky break, while she and the pups were leaving the burrow, a lioness was hunting a herd of gemsbok nearby. Breaking her cover, the lioness chases the large antelope towards the now empty burrow. Not surprisingly, two or three of the gemsbok take a route across the burrow itself, causing the carefully constructed sides to give way. The first three are lucky, but the next one is not. As its hooves pound into the soft sand, it shifts which causes the gemsbok to stumble. Before it can correct its position, the lioness is upon it...with four others. When the group returns to the burrow, they are horrified by what they find; not just a collapsed burrow that is marred with hoof prints and paw prints, but the sight of dried blood that speckles the sand. Big Will and Pookie creep over, tentatively shifting around before they find one tunnel that is still mostly in tact. Artemis is the one to venture below ground, searching desperately for her missing pups. She surfaces with a look of defeat on her face. She found nothing, no sign of the pups or their sitter. Assuming the worst, Artemis decides to move the family. Unaware that Asami is trying to find them. Chapter Five Pups are naturally noisy, but twelve certainly turns a place into a madhouse. Luckily, Stato and Red Velvet now have somebody to help them with the little ones. That somebody is none other than Asami who had failed to locate the group. Deciding it wasn't worth the effort, Asami returned to her little sister's group and requested permission to join. At first Red Velvet hesitated, but then common sense came into play and Asami found herself the member of a new mob which is now being called the Bluegrass. Over at the Myrtle Mob, there is expectation. Artemis has become pregnant again and she was determined that this litter would survive. While her strong desire is good, it has made her very short-tempered with her two sisters. Aphrodite and Athena have been working hard to stay out of her way, but they can only go so far. Even Big Will finds himself on the receiving end of his mate's mood swings. It is not very pleasant. But Big Will is becoming more concerned about the fact that Pookie, Bad Boy, and Arested are beginning to take longer roving trips, often being gone for a week or two. It's not surprising, but the lack of these three males means that there aren't as many meerkats left to share the duties, Big Will has been forced to take guard duty more often and is getting a little thin. Athena and Aphrodite do their part, but both females are prone to thinking that the sight of a rover is a good thing. So far, neither has become pregnant. But Artemis is keeping an eye on them. The older her two sisters get, the harder it will be to keep them in line. It's not helping her cause that her mate's cousin and two nephews can't seem to decide whether they want to stay or go. Pookie in particular is quite large himself and is drawing attention from the two younger females often.